ian__marshall

Early days so will afford him some time, but initial impressions aren't very positive. Today was very worrying. Horrendous lineup in such a crucial game, no idea what was going through his head. The inclusion of Ward alone is baffling, but to have two of your best players sat on the bench was also very odd given the importance of the game. I get the argument about him having to work with a poor squad but what's concerning me is that there seems to be no plan/philosophy. Shape wise we're all over the place. The one thing I hoped for and expected of any new manager was that they addressed the defensive situation and whilst I acknowledge that the players at his disposal are very limited, I'd have expected him to address this tactically and at least set us up to be organised and well drilled. Unfortunately, I feel like we're even more porous at the back. That's rather concerning given all the talk he made early doors about focusing on the defensive side of the game. Yes, it's only been 4 weeks, but you can't even see any work in progress. It's literally Cooperball MKII but worse. Thinking back to the early days under Enzo, specifically that Liverpool friendly, we took a hammering and were outclassed, however we could all see there were positives to take from the game and with more time could go on to be a dangerous outfit. I'm not seeing that under Ruud. He doesn't seem to have a clue tactically, the training videos on the website look like very generic drills. There's no clips of him pausing play and explaining to individuals what he wants them to do. It all feels a bit too laid back with little attention to the detail. I'm not one for being reactive and changing managers every 5 minutes, all clubs need stability to be successful in my view and I do think he'd benefit having his own team around him, however I'm not sure he's the right man that we need in this situation. The dilemma we have is do we give him the transfer window to turn it around? Part of me thinks regardless of his ability the one area he should excel in is having the pulling power to attract decent talent if backed, which with the right players could allow us to kick the can down the road. The other part of me worries about what happens if he gets it wrong and the board then appoint someone else after the window who has to work with a squad that doesn't fit their style of play. There's some big decisions to be made that's for sure. Just hope Top has the necessary judgment and acumen to make the right calls.

The resale platform works a treat. Some poor soul (really sorry if you're on this forum) bought my ticket this morning within a day of listing.

Wow 😲 Ward actually made a save!

This should be 0-5!!! Let that sink in for a moment. At home to Wolves!

This Wolves team could collectively head off down the pub for the next 25 minutes and we still wouldn't score a goal. We look abysmal today in the final third.

Suspect it's out of our hands. Likely Brighton have asked him not to play, though it does raise a question as to why he is on the bench.

Probably begging Rudkin to send him back. I think I would if I was him.

0-3 at home to Wolves with Buonanotte and Daka on the bench and he's brings on Hamza and Reid 🤯

That's the spirit Ruud, bring on another clown. Really not sure what the game plan is here.

3-0 at home against this shower. All the goals completely avoidable. Not going to pile in on Ruud yet but he's got today very wrong indeed.

Literally put a traffic cone in the middle of the goal and we only go into half time 0-1 down. Ward is a £#&@&%! disgrace.

Please enlighten me...

Great save Ward 😂

How did we not score. We are so rubbish

Same players over and over again

Literally get the shot on target and you score. It was bad enough under Rodgers watching this horror show week in week out, but to have learnt nothing and keep playing the competition winner in goal is beyond comprehension.

We genuinely would be better playing without a keeper. Ward's useless.

Is he on the wind up?!? Have Brighton accepted an offer on Buonanotte and they're insisting he doesn't play? That team selection makes absolutely no sense in such a critical game. Ward must have bugged the manager's office at the training ground. No other explanation for his constant selections.

To be fair to Pep, PSR has come back to bite them on the backside. Their net spend over the last 5 years has declined to the point that they're middle of the pack. Look at the talent they've lost; Kompany, Mahrez, Palmer, Laporte, Jesus, Alvarez, Fernandinho, Sterling, Zinchenko. Then factor in the injury to Rodri, and aging stars, such as De Bruyne, Walker, Gundogan, Silva, etc. who are clearly on their last legs. Contrast that against some of the players that have come in; Rico Lewis (talented but developing), Kovacic (squad player at best), Ake (wasn't good enough for Bournemouth let alone Man City), Doku (all style no end product), Savinho (talented but not currently hitting the levels needed). Of course they've brought in the likes of Haaland, and Gvardiol but these are the type of players you'd expect them to recruit at their peak to maintain their levels anyway. Look at yesterday's bench. Take De Bruyne and Walker out of the equation and I think most on here would be dissatisfied if those players were on our bench. It's certainly not a bench befitting a side competing in 4 competitions at the highest level. It really is no surprise that they are struggling, any team would. Furthermore if I remember correctly from a few years back someone posted an infographic demonstrating a strong correlation between net spend and finishing position, so again is it any surprise that they're starting to drop off?!? Pep is a genius, no doubt about that, his record speaks for itself. But his football is demanding and it needs competent footballers to achieve the levels he would expect, sadly a lot of the players that they've bought in simply aren't good enough, and with the number of games it's catching up with them.

Very odd. Thought it was a lot closer personally. Draw would have been a fair result.

If they take this fight seriously, it isn't going to last long. That said, wouldn't surprise me if Usyk throws this for another pay day.

Don't disagree (though based on current ownership alone. I do think that'd change if the owners did). However, my understanding is that the theoretical max capacity of the stadium after full redevelopment is expected to be around 48k and the potential costs associated with redevelopment of the West Stand to realise that capacity would be astronomical due to the structure and position of the stand. Marinakis at Forest is now talking about 50k, Newcastle are contemplating expansion/new ground, Villa are expanding, West Ham already above 60k, Wolves looking to expand beyond 50k, and Leeds 53k. All teams around us who will leave us behind over the next 10 years if we're not ambitious and push the boat out. Yes, development isnt cheap, but it only ever gets more expensive. I'd imagine development costs on what's been proposed is now somewhere between £200/250m alone. You're probably looking at another £500m+ to get to 48k by the time further plans are approved and spades are in the ground, so I don't think £1bn for a new stadium that would surpass anything currently planned is unreasonable. I agree that I do not foresee the club revisiting this proposal, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't given the evoluting nature of both the sport and associated infrastructure.

I think the longer this goes on I'm more inclined to think the club need to revisit their plans and rotate the pitch 90 degrees and build a completely new stadium on the existing and E-On sites. The more I see of our stand redevelopment versus what other clubs are doing the more I feel we're behind the curve with this project. Would much rather us commit to something that a) has a wow factor, b) is considered to be one of the best in the country, c) is designed to maximise accoustics, and d) can be scaled up for further development in future years. The current project just feels like a half arsed attempt that is modelled on outdated designs, and doesn't tie in with the rest of the stadium.

Looking forward to it. Hope all is as well as can be expected Ric and tonight's session has provided some mental relief.

Hang in there Chris. If you're really struggling with the wait at the doctors give 111 a call or go to your nearest walk in centre and explain the impact that the delay is having on your health. Be as honest as you are on here and you'll find that they'll either fast track you or at the very least help with medication that can stabilise you and get you through until your consultation. I can only imagine the impact that this is having on you, but there are brighter days ahead, I can assure you of that.